In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental process during execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
